How to kill a goose quickly
Britons love to buy cookery books for Christmas. But they barely use them
“Countryman’s Cooking” was published in Britain in 1965. It has many strengths. If you wish to know how to brain a goose, it is peerless (in brief, bludgeon it briskly). If you want to find out how to behead a pheasant or disembowel a rabbit, it is invaluable. If, however, you wish to encase these animals in a pie, it is less helpful. For its author, W.M.W. Fowler, a former bomber pilot, has this to say on pastry recipes: “I cannot help you.”
Explore more
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “First, take one live goose…”
Britain December 16th 2023
- How a Rwandan gambit consumed the Conservative Party
- The magical thinking behind Britain’s Rwanda bill
- Wes Streeting, a Labour frontbencher, visits Singapore
- Britain needs more houses. Does the industry want to build them?
- London’s riotous pedicabs are about to be regulated
- How to kill a goose quickly
- Cheer up, Sir Keir! It might never happen
From the December 16th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?